{"id":567,"date":"2016-07-27T08:30:21","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T22:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/hearthwitchdownunder\/?p=567"},"modified":"2018-01-24T13:32:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T03:32:50","slug":"do-aussie-black-lives-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/hearthwitchdownunder\/2016\/07\/do-aussie-black-lives-matter.html","title":{"rendered":"Do Aussie Black Lives Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"men
Men and boys playing Gorri. Public domain, via wikimedia commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I was reading an article<\/a> the other day about how people in Australia, namely white people in Australia, find it hard to believe that black people in Australia should be part of the Black Lives Matter movement, because we have little to no video evidence of crimes against our black people.<\/p>\n

The truth is, what happens to black people in America is very different to what happens to our own black people. \u00a0This is not say that it isn\u2019t bad here too, as this recently released video will show you<\/a>. \u00a0Police violence against our Aboriginal peoples does happen, and it needs to be fixed and fought. But the sort of things that happen in the US\u00a0aren\u2019t on the same level here \u2013 though percentage wise the numbers could be similar, I am not sure.<\/p>\n

A black person here gets pulled over by the police, the cops are likely to assume the Aboriginal is drunk or high, that they have drugs or stolen goods in the car and violence is highly possible, from either party \u2013 but generally speaking, neither of them, black person or police officer, are likely to be in fear for their life.<\/p>\n

The reality is bad in and of itself, but, the lesser amount of deadly violence that happens, does make\u00a0it more difficult for us to see the problems.\u00a0 Thus we don\u2019t really see how our own black people are in any way in need of the Black Lives Matter movement. [1]<\/p>\n

The article pushes the idea that our black peoples lives matter too.\u00a0 And this is true.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t think we should place too much emphasis on BLM for our black people.<\/p>\n

Our black people are different to the American black people.\u00a0 African Americans were, originally, taken from their own lands and peoples, enslaved and placed in America and other countries.\u00a0 Aussie Aboriginals however were here in Aus before white people ever came here.\u00a0 We took their land, their culture, their children, their everything.\u00a0 And we are still taking it.\u00a0 There are similarities between the Aboriginals and African Americans, certainly.<\/p>\n

But in many ways Australian Aboriginals are more akin to Native Americans than they are to African Americans.<\/p>\n

Thus it is that their battle is not exactly the same one that is fought within the Black Lives Matter movement.<\/p>\n

Certainly, our own black people should be considered part of that movement too \u2013 they are victims of racially charged violence and such, including by our police.\u00a0 And some of the issues that African Americans are facing and fighting are relevant to our own Aboriginal peoples.\u00a0 But I am afraid that their unique struggles might get lost in the face of a movement that originated for another people, in another country.\u00a0 We need to not get caught up in the colour of their skin. Yes, they are generally dark skinned (there are white Aboriginals too however).\u00a0 But they are not African Americans, and their battle is very different and we should not confuse the two.<\/p>\n

Our Aboriginal people are being erased.\u00a0 When I was in school, we would learn small things about the Aboriginals, but it was all past tense<\/a>.\u00a0 Sure, Aboriginal history is of course past tense\u00a0because, history is the past [2].\u00a0 But their culture and religions were also taught in the past tense.\u00a0 I was taught about how they used to believe this and that about the Dreaming and Dreamtime.<\/p>\n

\"the
I don\u2019t know if the bunyip<\/a> is still believed in, But I hope so! Public domain, via wikimedia commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was never made aware of the fact that they still do believe in the Dreaming.\u00a0 Or some do. Many are raised in white culture and thus follow white beliefs and sadly may not even realise the truth of their people until they are adults [3].\u00a0 Because they, they were in the same school classes as I was.\u00a0 They were being taught that their culture and religions and languages are past tense.<\/p>\n

Not only are we being taught that the Aboriginal people are pretty much no more, but they are being taught that.\u00a0 They are being taught that they are past tense and they no longer exist.<\/p>\n

This is done by us acting like they are basically just black coloured white people \u2013 as though their blackness is some kind of disability or disease that makes them different and pitiable, but they are still basically the same as us.\u00a0 So we should of course make sure they know they are the same as us, and never let them know how they are different \u2013 so as to give them a chance to achieve some measure of whiteness.\u00a0 So, our culture is their culture, they have no other culture.\u00a0 Our religions are their religions, they have no other religions.\u00a0 Our world is their world, and no they cannot go back to their world, because their world means not being white. \u00a0And not being white is about the worst thing ever.<\/p>\n

The beliefs, cultures, religions, languages, lifestyles and history of the Aboriginal peoples are considered to be lesser, barbaric, pathetic and something to be avoided at all costs. \u00a0While this perception exists, we will always see our First Nations people as inferior \u2013 especially if they seek to reclaim their heritage. \u00a0And so long as we see their heritage and thus them as inferior, they will always be treated as they are now. \u00a0They will always be erased by our schools, our government, our judicial system, by all of us.<\/p>\n

I had finished writing this entire post when I came across a Facebook post about Aboriginals welcoming the Black Lives Movement in Australia.\u00a0 In the comments I saw, white people of course, saying things like, \u201cThey never had it as bad as Negroes and Indians, and we are trying to make their lives better now.\u00a0 We are trying to help them catch up with us.\u201d\u00a0 < paraphrased.<\/p>\n

I just have to add about this.\u00a0 First, we slaughtered them almost into nonexistence<\/a>\u00a0[4]. In my area, there are no Aboriginals left from the local tribe.\u00a0 None. The last died in the 1800s. They had it pretty damn\u00a0bad.<\/p>\n

And secondly, \u201cHelp them catch up with us\u201d \u2013 exactly what I was saying.\u00a0 Help them become more white.\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what matters right? That they become more white.<\/p>\n

\"Slaughterhouse
Nah they didn\u2019t have any problems at all. Slaughterhouse Creek. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Aboriginal people can and\u00a0indeed have chosen to\u00a0be part<\/a> of Black Lives Matter, and we should support them in this completely.\u00a0 But I think, what they really need is a movement of their own, tied into and related to the Black Lives Matter movement, but created for them specifically, their needs and their issues.\u00a0 If we get caught in\u00a0an\u00a0American movement for our own people, we run the risk of erasing our people even more.<\/p>\n

Do Aussie black lives matter? \u00a0Yes, they most assuredly do.<\/p>\n

Black lives matter.\u00a0 But the Aboriginal People Matter too.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 \u2013 The fact that every story I read about what it is like to grow up black in a white society is from African Americans, doesn\u2019t help in this either. \u00a0We need more stories from our Aboriginals and their unique experiences living in our white Aussie society. \u00a0Modern stories, not just ones from the past. \u00a0What is happening to them right now?<\/p>\n

2 \u2013 Most of Aboriginal history we are taught is in their relations to white \u2018colonisation\u2019, we don\u2019t learn much about pre-English invasion Aboriginal history. \u00a0And what we learn about them since our invasion happened is full of lies and holes anyway.<\/p>\n

3 \u2013 If an Aboriginal chooses to not live and believe according to their heritage, that is their choice. \u00a0But they should be able to know, from a young age, that the choice actually does exist!<\/p>\n

4 \u2013 Check out some, slightly old, stats<\/a>. \u00a03% of our population are Aboriginal (in 2011). \u00a0And of those, only 1% follow traditional Aboriginal religions, 24% are non-religious and 73% are Christian.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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